Agree heartily. We have 3 QBs (including SJ) with skills who we have no reason to keep holstered if we are badly missing the mark. Clark redshirts, of course.
Will we see 2-QB Rotation?
- Thread starter bballcat4
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1. Johnson was pretty brutal vs. So Carolina and Vandy in games we won...no doubt about that.
2. UK was a total mess in Austin Peay game on the Oline, etc...and we had to pull him off bench in a game we were going to sit him to rest him and things started clicking the second he took the field.
3. Johnson ran for over 100 yards, threw for 170+ more yards and we scored 36 points vs. Tenn...that day our defense decided to allow UT to score on just about every possession unfortunately.
4. Mizzou game we scored 35 points in passing and running and blew them right off the field offensively.
5. UGA had 2nd best defense statistically in SEC and we put up 24 points in that game. Johnson's lone Int bounced off of Badet's shoulder pad on a perfect post route that was an easy TD but ended in an Int.
6. Ga Tech bowl game...Johnson wasn't great but he wasn't awful by any stretch. He completed 19 - 34 for 175 yards and 1TD with 0 Ints and ran for another 50 yards with 1 TD to boot.
I just shake my head when you watch the game and Johnson at QB we moved the ball running with him as a read option threat and his deep passing is spot on. And as the year progressed his intermediate/short passing game improved (the UL, MSU, Mizzou and Ga Tech games he hit on plenty of shorter throws). I honestly don't know what people are watching when they can't see Johnson's impact on our offense last year...it wasn't just the Benny/Boom/OL show last year.
Why would you want to rotate 2 qbs who bring the same skills? That doesn't put any extra pressure on the defense, just means you are playing your number 2 guy. Playing 2 have completely different skills forces the defense to prepare for both, taking up practice time,
All our qb are pro style guys, Ramsey decided to stay for his last year, he won't start but he gives us an option of RSing Fromm to get a little separation between him and Eason. But we still need a qb in the 18 class and are actually looking to take a Dual threat guy if we can get one. Yes we have been pretty fortunate in the RB department, but alot of that is because Georgia produced so many. Now with about 95% of Georgia HS running some form of spread and airing it out the state isn't producing RBs like it has in the past. But has really picked it up with producing qbs, 5 5* the last 2 cycles and several 4*, plus the state is producing more, or higher ranked WR than before, We went out of state for our 17 RB and are very likely going out of state for the 18 RB, maybe 2, HS football in Ga has undergone a huge change the last 10-15 years,
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I don't think Barker starts, its a no win for him. Things go well, that's the expectations, if UK struggles it's the qb's fault, not that it actually is but its the way fans are. I see Johnson as alot like the qb who was at USC 3-4 years ago, Conner Shaw, wasn't the greatest passer, but could pull the ball down and gain first down after first down with his legs to keep drives alive. He was without question the team leader and he also took over the starting job after the season started. Barker may or may not have gotten UK to a bowl last year, Johnson got 7 wins in what amounted to a 10 game season for him, how do you put him on the bench?
Looking at our situation, Johnson and Barker aren't that different skill set wise. Johnson may be a little better runner and Barker is a better passer.
Obviously if you have two that are different it will work. We aren't in that situation.
We aren't Alabama and Nick Saban is not our coach. If another QB plays it will be at the very end of the game.
I'm not you enemy but you say we need to play dual QB's in one place then now you've settled on my choice for starting QB Steven Johnson?
Think you misread my OP. I'm not pushing for rotating QB's. I'm obviously not opposed to it. I stated that: 1) I expect to see it early in the season. 2) I expect to see less of it as the season progresses. 3) The health & depth of running backs will have a huge influence on how much of it we see.
I agree with many who have said that Johnson deserves to start unless someone really passes him in fall camp. Barker is in a no win situation to start. Barker would be blamed for any loss or bad offensive performance and people would be screaming for Johnson. Like many others, I hate seeing a QB rotation that seems forced. If Johnson is playing well, then by all means don't force a situation that messes up a player's rhythm.
I expect Gran & Stoops have a plan to play Barker very soon after a couple bad drives. This will not be because of lack of confidence in Johnson as much as it is to change the flow of the game.
By game 3 I don't think you see much rotation at QB except to run the Wildcat package or due to injury.
If you think Johnson is only a "little better runner" than Barker, then we've been watching a completely different game. And Barker is now coming off of back surgery which is likely to make his mobility even worse.
If we start platooning QBs early in the year w/o Johnson crapping the bed...I think I'd stroke out. It's Johnson at QB by a country mile from what I've seen. If anything upseats Johnson it would be a darkhorse in Gunner Hoak...not Drew Barker.
What would be interesting to see would be SJ lined up in the backfield/slot with Barker/Hoak at QB. You could get really creative with that set up as you have to respect Johnsons running ability. A little flea flicker or lateral pass option would be tough to defend. I'm not saying this will happen but it's fun to consider. It would be one way to solve a QB controversy.
But I expect SJ to start and play the overwhelming majority of snaps. I believe he earned it with his steady improvement last year and he will prove to be the Cats most dangerous QB. Teams will be keying on Snell so he should have ample opportunities to burn it up on the option. Pick your poison.
But I expect SJ to start and play the overwhelming majority of snaps. I believe he earned it with his steady improvement last year and he will prove to be the Cats most dangerous QB. Teams will be keying on Snell so he should have ample opportunities to burn it up on the option. Pick your poison.
Don't like the two QB system and never have. Where I've seen it run I rarely see a great deal of success and, as stated above, it tends to divide team and fan base. This is Johnsons6team all the way at the start of the season and if he shows signs of struggling then we have a goo d corps of back ups to turn to at that time and switch. That's the way I see it happening anyway.
Thanks for the clarification bbc4. We have a veteran offensive line and I think our offense will rock the second year of coach Gran's tenure. Myself I think SJ had a couple of bad series last year but they stuck with him. We are close to being on the same page.
Worst person on the field. Johnson also put up 300 against nmst and turned the eku game around.
The big question regarding SJ is, was the Louisville game a fluke? Based on that one game, he's our starter and it's a no-brainer decision. Based on the rest of his season, I'm far from convinced. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see which SJ we get.
Grumpy, I have hit "like" on posts with different conclusions in this thread, if well argued.
I am a Johnson man, but this whole debate is a little odd, given that the Wildcat package, is, in itself, a variation on not only a two QB combo, but a two offensive philosophy combo.
I guess my best case scenario, and hope is that Barker gets lots of snaps, after Johnson has us up late in 3rd quarters.
I want and expect Johnson to succeed, but hope Barker is given solid minutes to set him up for '18.
One thing that could happen is that Johnson could be more of a problem as a runner because the coaches won't be scared to death that he might get injured. Might make the offense better with that threat.
I still can't believe that our OC back then took away one of Towles biggest assets by not letting him run the ball a lot more than he did.
I still can't believe that our OC back then took away one of Towles biggest assets by not letting him run the ball a lot more than he did.
Johnson 7-4 coming off an upset of UofL, which means he beat a ranked top 11 team on the road, and the first bowl appearance in 5 years for the Cats
Barker is 1-3 as a starter with that only win coming against an awful team in Charlotte where we ran the entire game.
As mentioned above, how many QBs in our history have we had that went on the road and beat a top 10/11 team? And outplayed the Heisman trophy winner on top of that?!
I'm not big on Johnson at all, as he cannot be hit without fear of him fumbling the ball and he misfires badly on his intermediate throws. But, he led us to a 7 win season and he is OVER .500 (4-3) in conference play as a starter...no matter what you say..the team played better than it has in years when he was under center. If you are gonna reward performance...he gets the nod and there should be no controversy about the matter.
Another year of Hinshaw after a year of experience in SEC play and a bowl...he will be a lot better.
Barker is 1-3 as a starter with that only win coming against an awful team in Charlotte where we ran the entire game.
As mentioned above, how many QBs in our history have we had that went on the road and beat a top 10/11 team? And outplayed the Heisman trophy winner on top of that?!
I'm not big on Johnson at all, as he cannot be hit without fear of him fumbling the ball and he misfires badly on his intermediate throws. But, he led us to a 7 win season and he is OVER .500 (4-3) in conference play as a starter...no matter what you say..the team played better than it has in years when he was under center. If you are gonna reward performance...he gets the nod and there should be no controversy about the matter.
Another year of Hinshaw after a year of experience in SEC play and a bowl...he will be a lot better.
Nothing has been said about who should get the 'nod.' Most fans agree Johnson should get the 'nod.' I'm guessing (it's just a guess) that Barker will have some scripted series in a similar way as they script the Wildcat package.
As others have stated, we shouldn't see any change at QB (whether that be a Wildcat package or a Barker package) if Johnson is in a good rhythm. Never mess with rhythm.
I'm just speculating that we'll see more of it in the first few games and less of it as the season progresses. Much of my speculation has to do with the running game as it does Johnson and Barker. If Snell stays completely healthy and doesn't get nicked up PLUS another quality running back emerges then most of this becomes a mute point.
Also, the offense has to take the time to prepare two packages.
IMHO, only helpful if you misdirect the other team into preparing for two, while you prepare only one.
Ah...I love a good QB controversy in the off season. I think we have to be a little careful assigning too much credit to Johnson for last year's improvement. The real key to our season is we turned into a smash mouth football team with excellent OL and running back play. We also had a big play receiver in Badet who gave us an extra dimension....which we don't have next year. We also won't have the luxury of Boom's explosive plays bailing us out on numerous occaisons. Clearly Johnson was good with the deep ball, and showed a lot of poise running the offense and making some plays with his legs. Next year the QB will need to be more precise in the intermediate routes. I believe Johnson deserves to start and I hope he plays well enough to keep the position. However, if he falters, expect to see Barker.....the staff has a lot of confidence in him when (if ) healthy.
SJ went 7-3 to end the year after Barker's 2-0 start. I do not see platooning as an option at all.
If you were to ask me, I would rather see Bowden in the QB position more than Barker this season discounting the end of blowout games.
If you were to ask me, I would rather see Bowden in the QB position more than Barker this season discounting the end of blowout games.
SJ was hurt for most of the season as well. He still won more than he lost. Drew has still 1-5 as the starter at UK.
There's an obvious difference between being nicked up and suffering a very serious back injury that makes playing any sport impossible.
What a horrible idea. This would divide the team, make both qbs question themselves, and turn a potential 8 win season to a 5 season very quickly.
That happens pretty much everywhere, right? Our coaches will stick with the senior who just took us to a bowl. There will be 1 quarterback, and it's going to be SJ unless he gets hurt or somehow blows his opportunity. We will need a new starting quarterback in 2018, and that competition is already getting underway.
Well last year it was the pretty much the SJ show no matter how he was playing. We would go with the Wildcat when the passing was not doing well and it worked in a lot of games but the ones that didn't usually ended up in defeat. Unless you have a 3 year proved veteran in the game who you knew would make a comeback, I understand staying with the guy. But SJ has had part of a season under his belt, he will be the starter but if he has problems I hope we see someone come in to see if things can change with another player.
SJ is a work in progress. You cited some examples. Under very hostile conditions on the road, SJ outplayed the Heisman Trophy winner on November 25. That game showed that Coach Hinshaw had made huge progress with SJ's intermediate passing game, as he completed some sizzling passes up the seams. Then SJ unloaded a stinker in our bowl game. Then he had a pretty good spring before regressing in the BWG. But, going back to the win over UL, we saw SJ's ceiling. I expect to see it more often in 2017. Never underestimate Coach Hinshaw.
But we make an exception for the Gator national championship team? I choose to let this play out and see how the coaching staff decides is best for the team. SJ is distinct from our other QBs in consideration. The staff MAY feel there is a good way to match his strengths with the strengths of another. Or not.
I don't think any coach wants a 2 QB system, but I think good coaches consider the benefits against the risks.
Yeah but we know that most of the time it is counter productive and leads to disruption
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